Computerized control or common sense

When did people become so mindless? Are Type 1 diabetics that idiotic or have we reached a Darwinism socialistic society where a computer determines how “good” we are and whether or not we can receive the supplies WE want/need? I boiled syringes in a pan and never took a blood test when I was a child…ate ice cream with my friends, chewed lots of bubble gum and was given Pepsi by my teacher (classmates were jealous) when I bottomed out. Lots and lots of exercise, gone in the morning and home at dark. No alarms, beeping, warnings, calibrating or insurance companies. That was in the early '60’s. I currently use a paradigm insulin pump, without it telling me what to do, and am in excellent physical health. But now I’ve been told in order to get supplies, I have to use the latest and greatest closed loop system for great control because it monitors everything! Monitors everything for who and why? I’ve had it with the rules of the new game, the insurance companies and the tight control over what used to be self control and common sense.

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Wow, I’ve never heard that one before. Which brand they want you on? I’d take issue with that. Maybe you can make up some lie, like that you have an allergic reaction to the device. Do you have any real allergies that might aid you in this deception?

ANybody else experienced this?

Are they requiring you to use the 670G? Can you get it and just use it in manual mode instead of auto-mode? What insurance do you have? Are they saying you can only use a Medtronic pump?

Me too. And it is still that way for the most part. I only use the beeps for BG at night when I am asleep.

Jonni, could you please give us a bit more information about this “requirement”? Who requires it? Is there a rationale given? Who will pay the cost of the more advanced equipment?

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Me too. So many years, and I still prefer to do the calculations myself. I hope you find a way around this. Common sense left the station many years ago. Makes me sad.

I hear ya. I went back to my Paradigm and Dexcom CGM after trying the 670G for six months, and it was precisely the “nanny-ism” of the thing that drove me bats. The algorithm is supposed to do everything for you, but when it doesn’t all the controls you’d normally use are locked out, and to get at them you have to jump through multiple hoops and gateways to switch over to manual and back again.

I did try it just on manual mode for a while, but even that was aggravating because it’s still so over-protective. Just to suspend you have to click ten times (including scrolling) to get to a screen that says “Do you want to suspend y/n?” I just clicked ten times to get here, wth do you think I want to do??? I still had my old pager-style Paradigm and it was still perfectly good–it’s actually only a couple years old because I had it replaced under warranty in 2016–so I went back to it. I’ve always complained about the 90’s-era interface, but it does what I tell it to do without treating me like an untrustworthy toddler.

I was not as old school as you, but was on one shot a day and urine testing for most of my younger years. And I also ran around all day long and didn’t come back home until,well after dark. I carried sugar cubes wrapped in foil for those emergency times. And my family and I made it.
I hear the frustration and deal with it often. It makes me so angry that insurance companies know what’s best for me. How do they know which meter or insulin or pump is best for me? Isn’t that best answered by me and my medical team?
But I really can’t wait for some of these AP options coming. I know they still have another few years of testing before they hit the market but I can’t wait to have my pump and sensor to do all the thinking for me. I am so very tired of doing all that thinking myself. But I also understand what I want or need from my equipment isn’t what the next person might want or need.
I hope you can push back and get what you want and need. Don’t let them make those choices for you! Be ready for a battle! Most of us have to battle insurance companies a lot.

I think we all need to make choices from a wide spectrum of diabetes technology. I too chafe at some of the repetitive button pushing or over-active alarms.

I think technology can be deployed that balances your quality of life and the needs of diabetes. I use a do-it-yourself closed loop system and I have been able to integrate it comfortably into my life. I don’t mind the alarms that wake me up due to impending hypoglycemia. Fixing a hypo in a timely fashion, often with just 1/2 of a glucose tab, saves me hours of trying to bring down a rebound hyperglycemia the next morning.

We each need to find the level of technology that suits us. I don’t mind the demands of Loop, but I don’t think everyone would tolerate some of its needs.

As far as “the good old days,” I think we often look backward in time and tune out most of the negative episodes we went through. It’s the nature of human memory. The fact is, more people with diabetes had poor blood glucose control back then and the number of complication diagnoses reflected that.

The important thing is that you need to find where you want to balance those things. I would not let an insurance company tell me what pump I need to use, but if you are limited, let’s say, to the Medtronic line of pumps, you might want to consider the 630 model which is their latest offering that is not closed loop.

Is there any pressing reason that you may not continue with your current pump? You seem to happy with that situation. who says you have to change at this time?

Not me, at least as far as insulin treatments are concerned. I hated, hated, HATED R/N insulin. I do not look back on it with nostalgia. The thought of ever having to go back on it makes me nauseous.

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I get the impression that you did not like R/N insulin. :grin:

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MedT cannot make you buy or use sensors. The Revel (if still available) and the 630 g can be used without, and I suppose the 670 can as well. I think you have us confused…Gee my HMO refuses to pay for advanced technology…:slight_smile:
But I grew up with all that too, and I think we all need to know how to live without our gadgets should we ever need to.

Very perceptive, Inspector Lestrade!